CHARTER NUMBERS
SURGE IN CALIFORNIA

Enrollment rises to over half a million, following U.S. trend

School districts with the highest percentages of students who attended a public charter school in the 2012-13 academic year:

•79 percent: New Orleans Public School System

•51 percent: Detroit Public Schools

•43: District of Columbia Public Schools

•36: Flint City School District (Mich.)

•36: Kansas City, Missouri School District

•35: Gary Community School Corporation (Ind.)

•32: Hall County Schools (Ga.)

•29: Cleveland Metropolitan School District

•28: Dayton Public Schools (Ohio)

•28: Indianapolis Public Schools

•28: The School District of Philadelphia

Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

HIGHEST NUMBERS

School districts with the highest numbers of students who attended a public charter school in the 2012-13 academic year:

•120,958 students: Los Angeles Unified School District

•58,353: New York City Department of Education

•55,031: The School District of Philadelphia

•51,083: Detroit Public Schools

•49,187: Chicago Public Schools

•47,573: Miami-Dade County Public Schools

•43,546: Houston Independent School District

•36,126: New Orleans Public School System

•34,674: District of Columbia Public Schools

•34,408: Broward County Public Schools (Fla.)

Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

HIGHEST GROWTH

School districts with the most growth in public charter school students between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years:

•58 percent: Hall County Schools (Ga.)

•35: San Diego Unified School District

•29: Duval County Public Schools (Fla.)

•27: Newark Public Schools (N.J.)

•25: Hillsborough County Public Schools (Fla.)

•24: Clark County School District (Nev.)

•23: Los Angeles Unified School District

•22: Boston Public Schools

•21: New York City Department of Education

San Diego Unified is experiencing more growth in charter-school enrollment than any other district in California — and the second-highest rise in the nation, according to a new report.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools issued its annual market-share study Tuesday. The report showed dramatic growth among publicly funded independent charters, with one in every 20 public school students in America attending a charter during the 2012-13 academic year.

Nationwide, charter-school enrollment increased by 225,000 students over the 2011-12 school year, putting last year’s charter attendance at more than 2.3 million students.

“This trend shows no sign of slowing,” said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance. “It’s a sign of parental demand and a sign of a healthy market.”

In exchange for promising to raise student achievement through innovative means — some charter campuses promote science, language instruction or programs designed to produce first-generation college students — charters are exempt from many local and state education codes. For example, charters are not bound by limits on the length of a school day or seniority-based union practices for hiring and firing.

In some districts, charter-school enrollment has surpassed that of traditional schools.

In New Orleans, 79 percent of public school students attended charters last year. The figure was 51 percent in Detroit and 43 percent in Washington, D.C.

For the San Diego Unified School District, charter enrollment increased by 4,500 students in the 2012-13 academic year. This school year, the upward trend has continued — with a rise of 35 percent, or 4,636 students, to a total of 18,126 students who attend 55 charters, according to the California Charter School Association.